TV and movies

Here are some of the movies and TV shows Windows Central is enjoying this week.

Pokemon: The First Movie

Recommended by Jez Corden, senior Xbox editor

Do you want to be the very best? Like no one ever was? Well, Ash Ketchum did, and boy did it take him on a radical and wild adventure.

Set in a world where forcing animals to fight is not only legal but encouraged, Pokemon: The First Movie follows Ash and his pals on his continuing quest to be the world's best Pokemon trainer. Ash is invited to participate in a secret tournament on a mysterious island, but upon arriving, he realizes something sinister is afoot.

Pokemon: The First Movie is truly one of the most epic movies ever made, and you should most definitely watch it. Frankly, I'm shocked it didn't win an Oscar.

It tells the story of Easy Company of the 101st Airborne Division and their exploits throughout Europe as they fight their way into Germany. It features interviews with the real men of Easy Company, and is one of the most appreciated war movies of all time.

Yes, I know it's a 10-part miniseries, but once completed, it really does feel like one long feature. I've probably watched the entire thing about 30 times since it was released, and if you've yet to see it, I suggest checking it out.

Music

Here's some of the music the Windows Central team is listening to this week.

Luciferian Towers — Godspeed You! Black Emperor

Recommended by Daniel Rubino, executive editor

Godspeed You! Black Emperor – or just GSY!BE, if you're cool – has been around since 1994 and is often credited with kicking off the 'post-rock' genre of immense songs that usually omit lyrics and mirror classical music rather than what's on the radio. It's ideal music for long drives at night, or when wanting some powerful background music.

As always, GSY!BE worked on Luciferian Towers in secret, and the album was only rumored to have existed. The album reminds me more of Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! (2012) rather than 2015's Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress, which was slightly disappointing. The songs "Anthem for No State, Pt II" (and "Pt. III") are some of my favorite songs on this sprawling yet focused album. I think it's their best work in a decade.

Bad As Me (Deluxe Edition Remastered) — Tom Waits

Recommended by Al Sacco, managing editor

Tom Waits is one of the most underrated musicians of the last few decades, in my opinion. He's also extremely prolific, or he was until fairly recently, when the quintessential American crooner seems to have slowed down a bit in his old age.

It's been about six years since Waits released an album, so I was excited when I heard last month that though he doesn't have any new music planned — at least that we know of — he is releasing remastered versions of some of his most recent stuff, including "Bad as Me," which was released in 2011. The remastered versions of the six albums (Real Gone, Alice, Blood Money, Glitter and Doom, and Mule Variations, in addition to Bad as Me) are not all available yet, but they will be slowly rolled out during the coming months.

The first one will be "Bad as Me," so I've been revisiting those tunes. Check out the tracks "Raised Right Man," "Satisfied," and the title song, "Bad as Me" for some of the best tunes the album has to offer.

Music From Big Pink — The Band

Recommended by Cale Hunt, staff writer

Is The Band the best band of all time? Good question … What was once Bob Dylan's touring band eventually came out with its own music, which is labelled Music From Big Pink. Made up primarily of Canadians — except for the late Levon Helm — The Band's first album is full of songs that now make regular rotation around campfires and on stages around the world.

Just listen to "Tears of Rage," "Chest Fever," "I Shall Be Released," and especially "The Weight", and tell me that these five guys didn't tap into something that hasn't been hit since.

Books

The Witcher Box Set — Andrej Sapkowski

The Witcher 3 is largely considered to be the best RPG we've had in years. CD Projekt RED has done an excellent job adapting Andrzej Sapkowski's books into a game format.

The novels themselves are also brilliant fantasy resources, covering the life of a Witcher named Geralt. There's plenty of humor and while it may not be as complicated and intertwined as Game of Thrones, it's still a superb piece of lore.

And if you have yet to play through The Witcher series on PC (or console), do make time to sit down and immerse yourself into the world of beasts and magic.

In The Woods — Tana French

Recommended by Al Sacco, managing editor

Everybody loves a good police procedural, set in Ireland, and written by an Irish author who uses lots of funny slang, right? What? Not really? OK, well … fine. But I do. That's one reason why I enjoyed the first book in Tana French's popular "Dublin Murder Squad" series.

In the Woods is the story of Dublin (I see "Dooooblin," because … ) police detective Adam Ryan who experienced something unspeakable when he was a child that resulted in his two best friends disappearing without a trace. And that's not all that went missing; his memory of the whole thing is long gone, so he has no idea what happened. When he and his female partner, Cassie Maddox, catch a case that's eerily familiar, and that's located in the exact same Dublin suburb where Ryan's friends went missing, things get particularly interesting.

French's writing is unique and somewhat more literary than the average mystery novelist, and her quirky Irish turns of phrase and characterizations make the story particularly memorable. The book also won the 2008 Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for best first novel. And the series is currently six books long, so if you like In the Woods, there's quite a bit more where that came from, boyo.

Slaughterhouse-Five — Kurt Vonnegut

Recommended by Cale Hunt, staff writer

Slaughterhouse-Five is the story of Billy Pilgrim, a WWII vet who becomes unstuck in time later in his life, where he is then able to revisit past moments of his life. One period he revisits over and over is the time he spent as a POW in Dresden during the time it was leveled by fire bombs.

This is an anti-war book, no doubt inspired by Vonnegut's real time spent as a POW just outside Dresden, where he witnessed the effect the bombs had on the people and landscape of the region.

Vonnegut's books are always on the edge of science fiction, and this one is no different. Go into it with an open mind, and you'll come out the other side with a new perspective.